Strange Friendships
by arkhamite
Summary: Without Joker or Ivy, Harley is lonely and bored. She turns to the only other person she can think of: Batgirl. First she'll have to overcome Batman.    I want to hear your suggestions. I don't know whether they should just be friends or something more.
1. Prelude: The Letter

Prelude: The Letter

The night was dark, very much so. It was only a day after the new-moon, and even that sliver of light was covered by a blanket of rain-heavy clouds. There wasn't a corner in Gotham that wasn't bathed in black, and even the streets were dangerously dark except immediately under the working street lamps.

The circle of light that pitched upwards through the sky had been turned on quite late (just past midnight), so Batman had immediately assumed it must be an emergency. Commissioner Gordon almost never used the Bat Signal at a time like this. It didn't take the vigilante long to make his way to the source of the light, but when he did land atop the Gotham City Police building, Gordon was nowhere to be seen.

While he turned the bright light off, the woman who had called him there stepped out of her hiding spot silently, a hand hidden behind her back with the other perched on her curved hip. Sensing the villain, the dark knight turned to face her.

"Hey there, B-man!" the cheery voice was matched with a wide grin and an enthusiastic wave.

"Harley Quinn," was the deep growl of a response.

"I hope you weren't too busy or anythin', B-man, but I didn't have a phone number or address or nothin', but this thing is real helpful, ain't it?" Harley was excited as always, but with a quick scan seemed quite alone.

"What do you want? Where's the Joker?"

"Ooh, not very chatty are you?" Harley pouted.

"Quinn," He was gruff and intimidating, but that didn't seem to worry the clown a bit.

"Oh, alright. Mr J's at home. It's just you 'n' me, B." It didn't relax the Bat at all. It had to be a trap. He eyed the hidden arm and Harley noticed, "I just wanted you to give this to Batgirl. Y'know, no phone to call and all that."

In her hand, she revealed an enveloped letter and held it up so that Bruce could see the scrawled name, 'Batgirl' on it with a red kiss on the corner. Instead of taking it, he eyed it with apprehension.

"Oh, c'mon. It's a letter, not a bomb," she rolled her big blue eyes, "jus' take it."

Batman stepped forward and took it between his forefinger and thumb, lifting the back of it open.

"Now that's just rude! Do you always read other people's mail?" Harley complained loudly, "It's just an invitation asking if Batgirl wanted to have some coffee some time."

"Why?"

"Geez, because I'm _bored_. Mistah J's too busy to spend time with me and Ivy's not around. Batgirl's the only other girl I ever see much – y'know, when she's arresting me – and I wanna get to know her." Harley was pouting with her arms crossed.

"I'm not taking this Harley. She's not stupid. Neither am I. You'll have to play your twisted games somewhere else."

Without giving her time to argue, the dark knight turned and stalked off, a shrill voice following after him as a crumpled ball of paper fell from his hand.

"Well you're just a big mean meanie!"

As the man disappeared, Harley pranced over and picked up the envelope and smoothed it out on her leg before taking the letter out and reading over it again.

_Batgirl,_

_Hi, it's Harley Quinn._

_I wanted to know if you're up for getting some coffee some time._

_I know it's kind of weird and all, but I haven't gotten to kick your butt in a while and I'm starting to miss it. Pudding's been travelling around a lot, so I don't have anything to do. Hope you can come!_

_If you agree, you can contact me by sending a letter to the address written on the back._

_Love, HQ._

There was another lipstick kiss beside her initials and the address on the back of the page in her doctor-scrawl.

Harrumphing, Harley kicked some pieces of gravel before bounding back over the gaps between buildings, heading home again to set her back-up plan into motion.

The next time Bruce saw Barbara Gordon (in the Batcave where she was typing something into a computer) he warned her that Harley Quinn was up to something.

"What?" She didn't look up while her fingers moved nimbly over the keyboard.

"I don't know yet, but I think it has something to do with you."

Finally she broke her concentration, though her hands didn't stop moving, "What? Why? What happened?"

As set about his task of updating the computer, Bruce gave a brief recount of his encounter. When he finished, Barbara's brow was furrowed in thought before she refocused and they lapsed into a comfortable silence.


	2. Chapter One: It's a Trap!

Chapter One: It's a trap!

It was only just past 8:00pm, little over a week since the encounter with the clown princess and there had been an alert by the cops that Harley Quinn (and probably Joker) had kidnapped a woman from police custody, and were in pursuit. Bruce and Barbara were already suited up and left at once. It didn't make sense that Harley was the one who was running amok. Only the day previous she had pulled a thievery heist, making a big scene of it before fleeing in one of the joker's not-so-subtle get-away cars.

Turning onto another road, a purple and green car flew past them followed by six or seven police vehicles.

"Catch me if you can!" Harley whooped with her head out the window, blowing a raspberry at the cops.

"Do you think she's gone mad?" Barbara asked.

"Was that a joke?" Bruce responded, not all that amused as he maneuvered the Batmobil onto the road after Quinn.

Once the Bats were in the race, Harley sped up, easily leaving the police in the dust. Now she had what she wanted (and what she had failed to get yesterday) and made a beeline for the river. She was grinning happily and surprisingly relaxed as she tore up the streets.

In a matter of minutes she sprang from her car and darted into an abandoned building while her car flew into the river beside it. The Batman was just behind her and while Batgirl jumped out to chase Harley, he braked hard before diving into the river wear the car was sinking, a figure in the backseat. He needed to get to the woman.

Wrenching the car door open, letting water in and quickening the descent into the murky river, Bruce groaned in frustration at the sight inside. The figure was a mannequin with a green wig and Joker-style face. It had been a trick. This whole charade was a trap. _Babs._

Barbara sprinted through the office building after the other woman who she could only hear ahead of her. The footsteps stopped ahead in another room and she knew that Harley had run to a dead end. She smiled to herself and darted into the room before the door behind her slammed shut (followed by a much heavier door and the sound of bolts being moved into place. Spinning around she deduced that this must have been some sort of safe-room because of the heavy duty gate that had been closed automatically. A trap.

"Hey, Batgirl!" Harley was now sitting in a chair facing Barbara, relaxed despite her heavy breathing (from running).

Barb's response was to drop into a fighting stance, her eyes wary.

"Oh, come on. You bats are all the same. Can't trust anyone can ya?" Harley seemed to be in good humor.

"What is this all about, Harley? Where's the girl?"

"There is no girl, it's a set-up, see? It's all just a prank!" She was pleased with herself.

"Then why? What are you up to?" Barbara withdrew from her stance and looked around, finding no cameras, no henchmen and no Joker. Bruce was right. There was something weird going on.

"I wanted to have a coffee with you, but the B-man wouldn't give you the invitation. So here," jumping from her seated position, Harley held out the letter and moved forward to hand it to Barbara who took it hesitantly. She took it from the crinkled envelope and read it quickly and raising a questioning eyebrow.

"See? Bats wouldn't even take it to you and he threw it on the ground. Can you believe the nerve of him? Is he like that to everyone? Well, it doesn't really matter because you're here now and you can now we can have coffee or tea or whatever you drink. I know it's nighttime, but you probably need to stay up anyway, right?" The girl didn't even seem to care that Barbara was eying her with disbelief.

"Really? Coffee? Why would you ask me to have coffee?"

Harley walked back to her seat and motioned for Batgirl to join her in the other chair, which she did.

"I told you in the letter, I'm bored out of my mind. Besides-" she was cut out by a deep, worried voice coming from Barbara's suit.

"Batgirl, can you hear me? What's going on? Where are you?"

Harley rolled her eyes and mouthed, 'how rude'. Babs was looking at her curiously and pressed a small button on her belt to talk, "It's alright, Batman, everything's under control. Quinn said she just wanted to have… coffee."

There was a brief moment of silence and Harley could almost _hear_ him frowning, "Coffee? Again with the coffee?"

She got up from her seat quickly and moved to Barbara, who was still watching her. Unexpectedly the blonde dropped into her lap and pressed the button to speak. Barbara was rigid with surprise. "Hey there, B-man. Didja save ol' Gwen-doll-a? Sorry about all the fuss, but if you had just been a good messenger-boy I wouldn't have ta waste Mistah J's cars like that."

"Uh, Harley?" Barbara murmured. Their faces were only an inch apart because the jester was trying to talk into her mouth (where she assumed the speaking device was). With of the woman's arms between their bodies and the other around her neck for support, she was extremely unnerved by the proximity which didn't seem to bother the other at all.

"Harley, what are you up to?" the male voice was louder now that she was closer and Harley replied, ignoring (or unaware) of Barb's nervousness, "I'm not up to anything! You can go back to babysitting the city now. I'll just keep her for a little while. I promise she'll be right back with you later. Cross my heart and hope to die."

"It's fine. There's no one else here, and I don't think there's anything she can do to me I can't handle."

"Batgirl-"

"I can handle it."

"Fine, I can't find anyone here, but if she does anything strange-"

"Then I'll kick her ass and hand her to the Commissioner."

There was silence and finally a grunt of agreement.

Satisfied, Harley's grin stretched from ear to ear and she clapped her hands together before grabbing hold of Barbara again for balance. "Yay!"

"Uh, Harley… you can get off me now."

Nodding a little sheepishly, the blonde stood up quickly and jumped around, whooping with child-like excitement. Barbara watched, highly amused and forgetting her concern about being locked in a windowless room with a nutjob.

"This is going to be so much fun!" Harley gushed when she finally sat still. "Y'wanna go get that coffee now?" Her eyes were sparkling like a kid on Christmas morning.

Barbara was surprised, "What? You mean you actually want to go _out_ and get coffee _now_?" It was already nearing 9:00, not to mention Harley Quinn and Batgirl sitting and sharing tea in public was just… bizarre. It'd be a ridiculous thing to do where everyone could see.

"Oh yeah, you're right," Harley looked a bit disappointed, "the B-man would probably start spying on us and everything." Barb was about to point out that wasn't what she meant, but decided against it when Harley started yammering on again, "Oh well! I came up with a back-up plan just in case. See, I brought a kettle and some coffee and everything, so we can have some here instead. We can play games and talk and have all sorts of fun. Until Bats gets worried again. I hope he's not like that with all your friends. He's like a really really scary dad."

Barbara had to grin at the last part, if just because of the way it was said with Harley frowning and contemplative.

"So, what'll it be, partner? Coffee, tea or chocolate?" Harley jumped from her place and quickly started to pull all sorts of containers and mugs from a bag in the corner.

"I might just have some milk, if that's okay," Barbara said. The response from Harley was to whip out the bottle of milk (with a number of coldpacks tied to it) and some milo for herself. Placing the two green mugs on the small table between them, she poured the milk quietly and mixed the chocolate mixture into her own.

There was a long moment of awkward silence before Barbara 'hmmed'. Harley spoke first, her eyes lighting up with an idea, "I know, let's play a game to get to know each other!"

"Uh, okay?"

"How about 20 Questions?"


	3. Chapter Two: Twenty Questions

_I'm going to edit this again tomorrow because I don't think it's at its best.  
>I played on a quote from the <em>Batgirl_ series where BG asks about Harley and Ivy.  
>I just loved it so much (but didn't add when HQ suggests there's something between BG and Supergirl. .<em>

* * *

><p>Chapter Two: Twenty Questions<p>

"How about 20 Questions?"

"Okaaay… you do know I can't answer everything, right?"

Harley rolled her eyes but was still smiling, "Yeah, I know. I'm not going to ask who Batman really is or where your secret hideout is or anything. I'm not that dense."

Barbara nodded.

"Great! I'll start: what's your name?"

"Harley, I can't answer that. You said you wouldn't ask." She looked into the innocent baby-blue orbs seriously.

"Not your _whole_ name, silly. I can't just call you Batgirl all night, can I?"

"Well, I'm not telling you who I am."

"Fine, I'll just call you BB."

The suggestion made Barbara all the more wary. It was too close to the truth. In fact, in grade school she really had been called that.

"Why BB?"

"You know," Harley stretched it out, "because I used to call you Bat Brat. Bat Brat, BB… It's a nickname."

"Oh, okay."

Harley 'hmmed', "My turn again, because you asked that. Um… how old are you?"

Barbara raised a questioning eyebrow, "Why? And that wasn't my question."

"You know everything about me, and it's unfair. You can just approximate if you want."

The redhead sighed, "Okay, I'm around your age, give or take a couple years. Is that okay?"

"Yup!" Harley was grinning as she started to pull off the hood of her costume, followed by her mask. She pushed her hand through her hair, smoothing out the crushed pigtails.

"Great, my question," Barbara felt herself actually start to relax, "Hmm… okay, why did you get into psychiatry?"

Harley huffed, "Bor-ring, but I can tell you that I wanted to know why my dad was such a jerk. I'm surprised you didn't know that. He was a conman and just a really bad father. Like really bad. But most of my family are."

She had known that Harley's father was a conman, but didn't know that Harley had gone into Psychiatry because of him. While the girl was still grinning like she didn't care, the smile didn't seem to spread to her eyes and for the first time, Barbara felt sorry for the psychotic psychiatrist.

Seeing pity in the redhead's face, Harley hurried on, clapping her hands together, "My turn! What's it like working with the Big Bad Bat?"

"Ah, yes. I think you put it best- like living with a really really scary dad." They both grinned and Harley laughed aloud, obviously delighted. "He's really not much different in everyday life as he is when he's fighting villains. He's brooding, he sounds evil and he isn't much of a talker."

Harley was grinning again, and joked, "I woulda taken him for a real yammerer."

Babs giggled and turned serious, clearly thinking. "Harls, why did you want me here? I know you're bored, but where's Joker and Ivy? Why not just make friends who don't have to fight you?"

Harley counted off her fingers as she answered, "Joker's not in Gotham at the moment. I don't know where he is because he wouldn't tell me. Ivy's in Arkham, so I can't hang out with her and me and Catwoman and I aren't on speaking terms right now. You're the only other girl I ever see, so I figured why not!" She threw her hands in the air for dramatic effect, but Barbara didn't seem so thrilled.

"And…" she encouraged.

"Lemme put it this way, BB. Do you really think it'd be easy for a crazy, obsessive murdering clown to make friends with sane folk? I had to set a trap just to get you to see me!"

Barbara nodded, understanding and again feeling sympathetic for the madwoman. Yeah, she supposed it must be hard for Harley. She herself had enough trouble making friends outside of the hero-world because of her above-average intellect. And the time constraints and secrets put a lot of strain on any relationships she started.

The questions got much less personal for a while, varying from hobbies to favourite color (there was no surprises with Harley) and Barbara became more and more comfortable, not even noticing that her guards were slipping. Harley was just having such a good time and her enjoyment (like her laughter) was becoming extremely contagious. It had been so long since she had spent social time with another woman. Batman wasn't a great conversationalist and Dick was being a… well, dick since she had broken up with him.

She was still laughing, holding her sides from telling a story about the most embarrassing moment in her life when she asked the next question for Harley, "Okay, okay, okay… Umm. You and Ivy, why aren't scared of her? I mean, wouldn't you be safer spending your time with a poisonous cobra!"

Harley shook her head and looked very happy and a little nostalgic as she replied, "Oh, Ivy can't hurt me. She gave me a special shot once so we can play and I won't get sick at all."

Barbara's face echoed her curiosity, "You mean you two…"

Harley looked at her, oblivious, "What?"

"You and Ivy are… well… friends…" her brows were raised suggestively and thought her tone would give away the suggestion.

"Yeah…?" Obviously it didn't work.

"Y'know… friends like…"

Finally she caught on and her lips became circular, "Ohhh… Well we cuddle and we've kissed, but we haven't done the naughty. Just messed around some. I'd be worried that Mister J would find out and try to kill her. How 'bout you? Ever kiss a girl and done that sort of thing?"

Barbara shook her head as if shocked that it'd be suggested. "No way. Not even a kiss. Why? Have you?" she quickly turned the question around on Harley again. She really didn't want to discuss her personal life (or lack thereof).

"Of course I have! Y'know how I told you that I slept with my college professor to pass with flying colours?" Barb nodded slowly, "Well, it sure wasn't a he!" She cackled at the shocked blush that had overtaken every inch of the other woman's face (at least as far as she could see).

Harley had doubled over with laughter, not helped by the Batgirl's loss for words and was slapping her knee until she couldn't breathe anymore. She coughed hard a few times and leaned back in her chair, trying to catch her breath again. "You're hilarious, BB!" she beamed. "Okay, last question, okay, have you ever _wanted_ to be with a woman?"

The blush that had receded made a dramatic comeback as Barbara denied the suggestion. This little get together was getting much too uncomfortable for her likings, more personal than any of her discussions with anyone since college, at least. "Oh no, no, no, no! Not at all, nuh-uh. No. Just really no."

When the furious head-shaking ceased, Harley had a grin and a raised eyebrow, her eyes once again glittering with joy, "The lady doth protest too much, methinks."

Resolute about changing the subject, Babs asked with mock-surprise, "Shakespeare? Really? You know Shakespeare?"

The tactic worked and the red and black clad blonde looked at her with confusion, "Who? That's from a tv show I saw."

Not long after that, Batman's voice found its way into the room, first asking Barbara if she was alright before requesting she meet him outside. Now.

"Well, this has been… kinda fun, Harley," actually, it had been plenty of fun and the blonde knew it, "but I guess this is where we go back to hating each other."

Before she got up, Harley grabbed her arm with startling force, "Wait! How about next week?" Her voice was strangely desperate, "Here, I got this mobile so that I can call you and we can organize something else together. Please?"

"I'm sorry, Harl, I don't think I'd be allowed to-"

"Pretty, pretty please with cherries and whipped cream on top?"

Barbara shook her head and the villainess tried another approach. "Look, I'll give you _my_ number and if you don't call in a week I'll… I'll kidnap a bus of kids! No, wait, I'll shoot the Commissioner. He's a pal of yours, right? I'll shoot him." Beneath the pleading there was a dangerous level of truthfulness which reminded Barbara that this woman was indeed insane.

"Okay, fine." Her stomach was curling from the promise. It hadn't been that bad, and it definitely wasn't worth risking her father to deny Harley a little fun.

The clown perked up and she pulled a red and black card from seemingly nowhere. "Great! Great! Okay, fantastic! Here's my number. Don't try to trace it or it'll destroy your computers." Babs took it and headed for the door which was now unlocked (since when?) and waved a cautious farewell.

"BYE!" Harley yelled after the disappearing woman before flipping and cartwheeling about. She was literally bouncing off the walls she was so ecstatic. Not only had BB not tried to arrest her, the girl laughed with her and played a game and had fun. Now she wanted to start deciding what to do for next week.

Leaving the bag of food stuffs, Harley sprinted through the open door and slipped through a ventilation shaft (just in case the Batman had decided to try and catch her while she left). All the while she couldn't help cheering and grinning like crazy.

Batman was leaning against the batmobil when Barbara appeared from the building, intact with as emotionless a face as she could pull. He immediately started asking about what had happened, but Barb wasn't going to give too much up, though she had to tell him that she'd be seeing Harley again. The outrage was evident, but she knew it was because he cared and promised to be safe. "Why," he asked, and she simply told him that if she didn't, the madwoman would shoot her father and she couldn't risk it.

They drove off in silence towards Wayne Manor.


	4. Chapter Three: The Call

Barbara spent her week busy with work, but her thoughts kept slipping back to the black and red card which she had pinned above her desk at home. When they got back to the Batcave, Bruce had put it through a number of tests to determine if it had been poisoned or had a tracer, but nothing came up. She didn't need to keep it. The phone number had been imprinted into her memory from the moment she saw it, but it seemed rude to just toss it away when Harley had gone to so much trouble to give it to her.

It was Friday and six days since she drank milk locked in a safe room with the psychopath Harley Quinn. Several times she had picked up her phone and punched the numerals in, but when it came to pressing call she hadn't had the guts to do it. She kept hearing Batman's voice in her head and it was driving her nuts. Anyone would be crazy to actually _choose_ to meet with the villain and this went doubly so for her. But she made a promise and there was a part of her that was fearlessly curious about what Harley would think of this time.

Barbara was waiting at a bus stop having finished work at the library when her eyes fell on a public phone booth just across the road. The light above it blinked from the bad wiring and she felt drawn to it. Her bus wasn't due for at least ten minutes, and the pulsing florescence was calling her over. She couldn't do it, could she? She'd have to be mad. But what if Harley did shoot her dad? She doubted that would come to pass, but did she really want to risk it?

Before she could change her mind again she rushed across the road and dropped fifty cents into the slot. She dialed and there was the sound of a phone ringing on the end of the line. Barbara held her breath and was about to hang up when there was an answer.

"Harley Quinn's phone, how may I direct your call?"

She hesitated with the realization that she had _just phoned a psychopath_. "Um… Hi, Harley." She squeaked.

"BB!" Harley shrieked, "I'm so glad you called. I thought you weren't and I was just thinking 'should I actually shoot Gordie or should I wait?' and you called. I'm so happy!"

"I'm glad you're glad," Barbara replied nervously.

"I am so, so excited. I know exactly where we're going to go tomorrow. You and me. It'll be a riot. Hang on, I'll get the deets."

There was silence for a minute and Barbara considered hanging up. What if Harley was tracing the call and was going to find her?

"Okie-dokes, I'm back. We're going dancing. It'll be great."

"Dancing?"

"Yep. Meet me at the police station at ten thirty and we'll go from there. Okay?"

"Dancing?" Barbara repeated.

"Yeah dancing. Y'know, with your feet? When you move them? Think of it as sparing without hitting the other person."

"I know what dancing is, Harl, but…"

There was a beeping and a mechanical voice alerted Barbara that she had thirty seconds left.

"Harley, I have to go, but-"

"The police station roof at ten thirty. Tomorrow. Bye, BB. Bye!" Harley's excited squeal was the last thing Barbara heard before the phone cut out.

"Dancing?"

As soon as she got home, Barbara phoned Bruce to relate the strange call to him. He wasn't happy that she contacted Harley, or that she was seriously planning to go, but he knew he couldn't stop her. Instead of fighting it he offered to watch them at the police station and that he would stay available in case Barbara needed backup throughout the night. She'd keep her radio on so she could contact him. She felt safe knowing that Bruce was going to be there to keep an eye on her, even though she knew she could handle Harley Quinn on her own.


	5. Chapter Four: Dancing Queens

The next night Barbara and Bruce waited on a shadowy rooftop opposite the police station. Batman had the binoculars to his eyes while his companion checked that her utility belt was fully stocked. She wanted to believe that Harley Quinn's offer to go dancing really was just about having fun, but she knew she couldn't let herself become vulnerable around her. On their way over the two vigilantes had discussed what limits Barbara would stick to. They both agreed she wouldn't change out of her crime-fighting outfit but disagreed on how much alcohol Barbara should be allowed to drink. Eventually they decided she could have two alcoholic drinks as long as she didn't accept anything from Harley.

"She's arrived," Bruce noted with a grunt.

Barbara brought her binoculars to her eyes and saw that Harley was sitting on the edge of the station roof, legs swinging. The clown was peering about with her hand to her brow as if trying to spot them. Her glance passed over them, but the heroes were confident in the darkness. They had secured the area earlier and were certain that no one was waiting, but just in case they prowled from their spot onto the next two roofs until sure Harley was alone.

"Okay, I'm going down now," Barbara said.

Batman nodded, "I'll keep watch until you've reached your destination. I'll stake out the building and if there's any trouble, you call me."

"You know I will," she confirmed before swinging from her perch.

Harley didn't hear Barbara drop behind her, but she didn't seem to be surprise by Batgirl's voice.

"Hello, Quinn."

The slim villain turned to face her with a grin. "Hey, BB. You bats are all the same. So dramatic."

"Well, I did learn from the best."

"Speaking of the devil, where is the big B? I know he's up there somewhere." Barb's eyes flitted to the building where she knew her dark guardian was watching and Harley followed the hint. "HEY B-MAN, GET A LIFE!" She yelled at the shadows before giggling.

"Please don't piss him off," Barbara whispered, "it was difficult enough getting him to go along with this."

"I suppose you're right." Harley seemed contemplative for a moment before she turned and yelled again, "THANK YOU BIG SCARY MAN!"

When she turned back, batgirl was tapping her foot. "So where are you taking me tonight?"

"Dancing, of course."

"Won't we be a little… conspicuous?" She gestured at Harley's red and black bodysuit.

"Nah, people will hardly notice us." There was that grin again. It made Barbara nervous and curious at the same time.

"I guess you should lead the way, then."

Harley led from the roof and around the corner where a black motorbike was half-hidden behind a building. It looked a little old and had scratches down the side, but it seemed stable enough. It didn't occur to Barbara to ask where Harley got it or whether she knew how to ride it, and she accepted the helmet with a shrug. Batman might get left behind until he got to the Batmobile, but she had a tracking device in her belt, so he would be able to find her where ever she ended up.

The tires squealed as they zoomed down the street, turning corner after corner at a dangerous speed. Batgirl held onto Harley's waist for dear life, waiting for it to end. Harley whooped excitedly as she rode through red lights. It was late and there weren't many cars on the road, so she didn't see the point of following the road rules.

When she stopped the bike Barbara stumbled away on shaky legs. She felt nauseous and leaned against a wall until her land-legs returned.

"You okay, BB?" Harley asked, "You look kinda sick."

"I'll be fine," she replied as her stomach stopped heaving, "but I'll drive next time. Okay?"

"Sure thing. I thought it went well for my first try."

Barbara looked up, suddenly feeling ill again. "That was your first time riding a motor cycle?"

"Well, Kevvy showed me how before he lent it to me. He said I was a natural." She seemed so proud that the bat didn't want to contradict her.

"That was nice of him," was all she said.

Barbara looked around her but she couldn't see any where someone sane would consider going dancing. The buildings were all drab, grey and faintly factory-like. Although, as she looked at Harley she realized that they might have different ideas about dancing. She'd rather go somewhere Latin. Harley caught her watching her and smiled.

"C'mon, it's just around the corner."

She grabbed Barbara's hand and led her down an alley to a door and knocked on it. It opened a crack and Batgirl saw a tall, muscular man peer at them. She felt nervous under his scrutinizing gaze but didn't show any weakness. He must have deemed them suitable because he opened the door wide and Harley dragged her into a hall lit with flashing Christmas lights hanging on the walls. She could hear the music as they got nearer (and it definitely wasn't Latin).When they reached the end of the hall there was another door. Barbara was suddenly hit with a wave of anxiousness and felt her muscles tense as if preparing to be attacked. Harley grinned at her and put her hand on the handle.

"Ready?"

Barbara wanted to say no, but wasn't given a chance before Harley pushed the door open. There was a blast of music and heat. There was a humongous room that was probably meant to be used as a warehouse and it was packed with people. Without giving her a chance to think, Harley grabbed Barbara's hand and pulled her into the din. Immediately they were surrounded by people and as she stared around at them she realized that they were all dressed as capes and villains. Most of the costumes were wildly inaccurate, but a handful were actually decent. Harley was still pulling her further into the room.

"Harley," Barbara yelled over the doof doof music that burst from the speakers, "what is this place?"

The clown moved close enough that Batgirl could feel her breath on her ear. "Whatchu say?"

"What is this place?" She repeated.

"It's a costume club. It's the only place I can go without being stared at."

They continued moving towards the other wall which Barbara could see had a large bar running down it. It was further away from the speakers, so it wasn't as hard to hear. She shook her head when Harley asked if she wanted anything and the clown looked disappointed. The pout didn't last long, though, because she began to bounce around and off the other people in a way that Barbara decided was meant to be dancing. She mentally shrugged and let Harley move her arms about.

"C'mon, BB, shake it!"

It seemed bizarre 'shaking it' in her crime-fighting costume with a woman she was normally fighting. The strangeness tugged her lips into a smile. She didn't want to laugh, but the more she held it back the more it bubbled out. Smiling wide as always, Harley gripped her hands and they spun and spun until they were too dizzy. Barbara stumbled and shook her head to clear it. It was too hot and she needed air. She pulled Harley close to tell her.

"Do you want a drink?" She asked loudly.

Harley Beamed. "Sure. Vodka and orange please."

Barbara squeezed her way out of the crowd and leaned against the bar. She was puffing slightly as she ordered the drinks from a woman in an out-of-date catwoman costume. The bartender took her money (which she had kept in one of the pouches on her belt) and handed her the drinks. When she turned around again she could just see Harley's hat over the sea of heads. Weaving through the throng of people made her feel somewhat claustrophobic. Her head hurt and it smelled like a locker-room. Barbara wondered why anyone would choose to do this every night.

After being pushed this way and that, she finally reached her black and red clad companion. A man dressed as Superman beckoned her over. She ignored him and instead went straight to Harley's side. Not to be discouraged, the man moved close to her and snuck a grope. Barbara jumped and spilt orange juice on Harley who immediately went from dancing playfully to mad as hell. At first she thought the anger was directed at her, but then Harley pushed her finger at the grinning guy's chest.

"Keep yer grimy fingers to yourself."

Barbara put her hand on Harley's shoulder warningly. "Leave him alone," she said into her ear.

"But he grabbed you."

"I know. It happens."

Harley lowered her hand and the guy's grin widened. If he knew who they were he'd probably be running.

"Com'n dance with me li'l sister," he said, reaching for Barbara's arm but Harley smacked his hand hard. The guy's face turned to a frown. "Let her dance if she wants."

"Well I don't want to," Batgirl said over the music and began to lead Harley away.

"All these fuck'n bitches are on their periods." His voice was much louder than necessary and Barbara felt her companion stiffen in her grip.

She didn't have the time to react when Harley pulled out of her grasp and launched herself at the bloke. In a blur of red and black she had tackled him to the ground, taking down a number of other dancers with them. As people fell around, elbowing and kicking each other confusion and chaos took root. One moment they were all dancing and the next they were swinging wildly at each other. Barbara tried to push her way back to Harley to pull her off the man's friends but the crowd was suddenly so thick she could only move back towards the wall.

She called out Harley's name but could no longer see the woman. Desperate, she climbed onto the bar and for a moment saw a red jester's hat get flung across the room. Next, a bottle came flying at her and Barbara slipped backwards in surprise.

Two strong arms caught her and set her down gently. When she turned her head she saw a familiar black cowl.

"Thank god it's you, Br-" she caught herself as she realized that the face looking down at her wasn't Bruce Wayne's. Sure, the mask was fairly accurate and the body suit wasn't so bad, but this man had much darker skin and was smiling. Batman never smiled. His eyes seemed kinder, too- a lovely brown..

"That's right," he said in his gruffest voice, "I'm the goddamn Batman. What were you doing up there?" The question snapped her out of her reverie and she looked back at the crowd.

"I'm looking for my friend. She's dressed as a clown. Harley Quinn."

"You mean her?"

Barbara followed his pointed finger and there was Harley, hatless and jumping around a man trying to crawl out of the crowd. He looked like he'd been hit by a falling anvil and the clown was throwing tampons from her bag at him.

"You're bleeding all over your nice white pants. You better PLUG IT UP!"

Batgirl paled and nodded.

"Your friend's very… dramatic."

She was about to explain that Harley wasn't really her friend, but the woman had spotted her and was vaulting over the bar.

"BB, we gotta get out of here. The cops'll be here any minute. Who's this?" She squinted suspiciously at the man who still had his hand on Barbara's waist.

"Oh, this is… umm…"

"Calvin," he introduced, "but you're right. We can introduce ourselves outside. There's a fire exit just over here."

Calvin led the way out and in the alley he and Harley watched each other for a moment. Barbara felt the clown's hand possessively cling to her own.

"Thanks." Barbara said to Calvin. "For catching me. And for getting us out."

"It was my pleasure," he replied with a smile.

Barbara felt a flutter in her stomach but the moment was ruined when Harley began to pull her away.

"You get home safe now," Harley said, "I have to deliver this one safely before her, uh, dad realizes what happened here."

"Wait. Here." Calvin pulled a business car out of his belt and Barb took it. "Give me a call if you ever need someone to catch you." She looked at the name on the card 'Calvin Harvard, contractor' and the number.

"I will," she replied, but Harley was already dragging her away.

They disappeared around the corner and Barbara sighed happily.

"You cannot call him," Harley demanded.

"Why not?"

"I don't like him."

"You don't have to like him, Harl, you aren't the one who's going to see him." Barbara felt cross that the woman was telling her what she could and could not do. Not even Batman had that privilege.

"I don't like the way he was staring at me."

"You wouldn't like anyone who dresses up as Batman."

"I'm serious, BB. I'm telling you, you can't trust him."

"You're not exactly trust-worthy yourself, you know."

"Well it takes one to know one and I know you can't trust this guy."

Barbara stopped walking and pulled out of Harley's grasp.

"I think I'll make my own way home."

"Oh c'mon."

"I mean it. You kidnap me and you threaten my friends and you take me to this horrible place and you start fights and now you're telling me who I can and can't talk to. You said you just want to be friends, but this is not how friends act. You are not being my friend."

Harley's lower lip wobbled, but she bit it to keep from crying. "Fine. See whoever you like. You don't want to be my friend, that's fine. We won't be friends. We'll just go back to being enemies if you want."

"That's not what I want at all, Harl. I do want to try and be your friend, but for that to happen you have to be a friend to me first." Saying out loud made Barbara realize that she really did want to get along with Harley. Maybe by being a friend she could help rehabilitate Harley. Bruce had been the one who had vouched for her being healthy enough to leave Arkham. This way they could keep an eye on her and help her as much as possible.

"Okay. I'll do better. I promise." Harley's face lit up with determination and Barbara smiled.

"Then we are friends."

"Really?"

"Really." She hesitated before adding, "As long as I drive from now on."


End file.
